Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Sega of America
Publisher: Sonic Team
# of Players: 1-2
Memory: 9 blocks
ERSB: Everyone
Released On: June 17, 2003
Also On: Dreamcast
Features: Dolby Pro Logic II, Progressive Scan, GBA Connectivity
Website: http://www.sega.com/sonic/content.jhtml
September 9th of the year 1999 was the day Sega launched its last home console…the Sega Dreamcast. Due to quality of launch titles such as Soul Calibur, the Dreamcast launch is known as one of the most impressive console launches in video game history. Now, four years after its initial outing, the Dreamcast launch title Sonic Adventure returns with a special edition ‘Director’s Cut’ version of the game exclusively for the Nintendo GameCube in Sonic Adventure DX. However, time may have gotten the best of blue hedgehog’s first Dreamcast run…
Presentation:
The true test of a game’s greatness is its ability to withstand the test of time. Games like Super Metroid, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Tetris can each claim that kind of achievement. However, the same cannot be said about Sonic Adventure. Partially because many people will say it wasn’t too much of a great game in the first place. With Sonic Adventure DX, it becomes apparent that after four years, not only does the game show its age visually, but when it comes to gameplay, and as well as every other thinkable area. Something which leaves one question in mind… Why didn’t Sonic Team seize the opportunity to make the game better? The problems of ole still exist in Sonic Adventure DX, and even more new ones.
Gameplay:
When Sonic Adventure first hit the scene over 4 years ago, it was plagued with piss poor controls, a horrific camera, and annoying gameplay when playing as any character other than the blue hedgehog himself. Sonic Adventure DX on the other hand, is plagued by piss poor controls, a horrific camera, and annoying gameplay when playing as any character other than the blue hedgehog himself. Wait; let me read that over… Yep, I was right. It’s the same exact goddamn thing, which means that none of the problems of ole have been fixed at all.
In Sonic Adventure you can play as six different characters, our hero Sonic, his butt buddy Tails, Knuckles the Echidna,
"The problems of ole still exist in Sonic Adventure DX, and even more new ones"
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Sonic’s bitch Amy, Dr. Robotnik’s robot turned good Gamma, and the fat, useless mother fucker named Big the Cat. Initially, you start off playing as Sonic, doing your own thing; you know… all that running and ring collecting. Then the further you get in the game, more characters will be unlocked for you to play as, something which falsely comes off as being a treat.
"the further you get in the game, more characters will be unlocked for you to play as, something which falsely comes off as being a treat"
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However, it’s anything but. The reason for that is easy to explain. Not only does playing as any character other than Sonic feel like a chore, but it’s also a bore (Hey, look! That rhymed!). Sonic’s levels are fun. They may be extremely linear in design, but they manage to keep you entertained at all times. Of course, there are also some stages such as the Casino, which offer cool little mini games such as pinball, and if you’ve played the classic Sonic Spinball you may know what to expect, since the pinball mini game does its best to recreate the greatness of the Sega classic. As for the other characters, you basically play the same levels as Sonic’s, yet at a much slower pace and in the case of Big the Cat, a much, much, much slower pace. Playing as Big the Cat, isn’t something I would want any gamer to ever, and I mean ever experience! What you do as that fat bastard, is fish. Yes, you fish… Fucking fish! No, it’s not fun either! Most of the time, you’re just trying to keep yourself calm, and that’s the real challenge while playing as Big. It’s just so hard to retain yourself from not destroying your GameCube just because it’s incredibly difficult just to control him properly. Unfortunately, to get the most out of the game, you’ll have to play as each and every character. However, there is some type of reward, and that is playing as Super Sonic in order to finally rid the world of Chaos, the ancient monster that Dr. Robotnik unleashed with the intention of taking over the world.
If you hadn’t already noticed, the game is features the word “adventure” in the title. Fortunately, the word “adventure” bares little significance with the actual game. However, it does have a slight impact which, unfortunately, manages to be nothing more than an annoyance, at times where something like that is least needed. You see, before you enter the game’s action stages for each individual character, you run around the game’s adventure fields, solving something which we like to call “puzzles”. In the grand scheme of things, this just ends up being a nuisance, yet in this “Special Edition” GameCube version of Sonic Adventure, the adventure aspect of the game is somewhat enhanced with the game’s Mission Mode, which in actuality is just another feature that ends up being anything but entertaining. I’m sorry, but collecting balloons and whatnot, isn’t fun, especially with Sonic Adventure’s sometimes frustrating gameplay, because Super Mario Sunshine, this game is not.
If not much has changed from the game’s original incarnation, why even bother playing it on the GameCube?
Well, Sonic Team has made the package just a tad more appealing, okay maybe a lot more appealing, but this is only a treat for those thirsty for a huge nostalgia trip. What I’m talking about are the 12 unlockable Game Gear Sonic games and spin-offs found in DX, such as Sonic Triple Trouble, Sonic Chaos, and Tail’s Adventure. You could say, that these games make Sonic Adventure DX, a Sonic Mega Collection vol. 2 but just not as appealing (Every one of these Game Gear Sonic games pale in comparison to its Genesis brethren).
Visuals:
Ever since Sega went third party, Sonic Team has pretty much stayed exclusive to Nintendo’s platforms. Yet, it seems that learned to utilize GameCube’s hardware, they have not. Sonic Adventure DX may be a port of a four year old game, but that is no exception for the game to look nearly identical to its original Dreamcast appearance. I’m sorry, but the game looks like crap. A few things have been touched up, like character models and some other trivial
"I’m sorry, but the game looks like crap"
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garbage that no one will ever notice, but the framerate can still be, at times, unbearable, the detail and texture work is still poor, and the animations, whether in cutscenes or actual gameplay, still look funky as hell. This is unacceptable, especially when you take into consideration that this port was in the making for a lengthy amount of time.
Audio:
Some of my fondest memories playing through Sonic Adventure, the very first time, on the Sega Dreamcast years ago had very little to do with the actual gameplay found in the title. What I would often find myself doing was going to the game’s option menu, and playing some of Sonic Adventure’s themes over and over again. To this day, I still find myself questioning “Why?” The game’s soundtrack was and still is incredibly cheesy. No, it’s beyond cheesy. It’s a soundtrack filled with lighting fast guitar riffs. A style of music that should have died in an era where having big puffy hair was cool. And that was over twenty years ago! Nevertheless, these tunes are addicting, and I guess you can say even genius. Almost every tune is memorable enough for someone to play the game, come back to it some four years later, and still remember them note for note. No, that wasn’t an exaggeration…It’s a first hand experience! However, some things are just meant to crash and burn, and burn, and burn. What do I mean by that last comment? Well, over the years I’ve seen games which feature terrible voice acting. Whether it means, just flat out crappy dialogue, piss poor voice overs, or just terrible lip synching… Often, it’s one or the other but unfortunately in Sonic Adventure’s case, it’s everything you could possibly imagine. The voice acting is just plain horrid, and it’s shocking that after four years, Sonic Team didn’t do a damn thing to diminish the crappiness of the game’s voice acting and presentation. Shame on you Sonic Team! Shame!
Final Thoughts:
I’m a bit torn on this entire Sonic Adventure DX situation. At first, I was ready to slam this game into the ground with this review. The game shows its age in just about every area, from graphics to gameplay. Yet, nostalgia hit me like a freight train. Memories from playing the game on the Dreamcast from years ago sucked me into Sonic’s first Dreamcast adventure all over again, even if I did have to go through those horrendous Big the Cat, and Amy game paths. Although, that gets partially made up for with the Perfect Chaos boss battle as Super Sonic at the game’s climax, and those oh so sweet, unlockable Game Gear Sonic titles. However, I cannot suggest Sonic Adventure DX to anyone who is not familiar with the Sonic franchise, or to those who thought Sonic Adventure 2: Battle was a mediocre platformer, because for one, Sonic Adventure DX is pretty average and two… Sonic Adventure 2: Battle is far superior to DX in every way.
The hedgehog ports are done with. Now, let’s see what the future holds with Sonic Heroes!
*GamersMark.com reviewed this game with a copy of the title purchased from retail
